Stitching ourselves back together: urban Indigenous women's experience of reconnecting with identity through beadwork

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Stitching Ourselves Back Together: Urban Indigenous Women’s Experience of

Reconnecting with Identity Through Beadwork.

By

Shawna Bowler

B.A., University of Manitoba, 2005

B.S.W., University of Manitoba, 2009

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK

In the School of Social Work

© Shawna Bowler, 2020

The University of Victoria

All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by

photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author.

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Stitching Ourselves Back Together: Urban Indigenous Women’s Experience of

Reconnecting with Identity Through Beadwork.

By

Shawna Bowler

B.A., University of Manitoba, 2005

B.S.W., University of Manitoba, 2009

Supervisory Committee

Dr. Jeannine Carriere, School of Social Work

Supervisor

Dr. Billie Allan, School of Social Work

Departmental Member

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Abstract

This thesis explores how urban Indigenous women experience reconnections to cultural identity when they take up the practice of traditional beadwork. A beading methodology was used to explore the experiences of five urban Indigenous women in Winnipeg. Within this methodology, stories and conversations about beadwork are used as a way to gather and share knowledge in research. Participants were asked to share their experience of identity

reconnections through beadwork stories. The major elements of this beading methodology and its underlying theoretical, epistemological and ontological roots are told through the story of the beaded medicine bags that were created for and gifted to each participant for the knowledge they contributed to this research. The author’s own beaded medicine bag is also used as a framework for a thematic analysis and discussion of the research findings. The themes identified through this analysis suggest beading as a multi-faceted and action-oriented approach that facilitates processes of journeying, remembering, relationships, asserting the self and healing that urban Indigenous women experience through their engagement with this practice. This thesis

concludes by highlighting some of the important implications of beading as an Indigenous way of knowing, being and doing in social work practice and research to promote decolonization, resiliency, wellness and healing in our work with Indigenous communities.

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Beaded Medicine Bags ... 20

Figure 2: Violet’s First Beading Project ... 43

Figure 3: Moccasins Made for Violet’s Brother ... 45

Figure 4: Color Bursts ... 46

Figure 5: Bluebird Moccasins ... 47

Figure 6: Family Stocking ... 48

Figure 7: Mukluks and Gauntlets for Trade ... 54

Figure 8: Amy’s Mukluks ... 55

Figure 9: Bear Paw Mukluks Made for Amy’s Elder ... 55

Figure 10: Mukluks made for Amy’s Daughter ... 56

Figure 11: Roberta’s First Project, Baby Wraps ... 62

Figure 12: Gauntlets Made for Roberta’s Husband ... 65

Figure 13: Keewatin Nutin on the Rapids... 70

Figure 14: Berry Picking with Kookum... 71

Figure 15: The Generations ... 72

Figure 16: Fire in the Sky ... 72

Figure 17: Honouring the Bullfrog ... 73

Figure 18: The Married Couple ... 74

Figure 19: Beaded Regalia Pieces: Crown, Necklace and Hair Ties ... 78

Figure 20: Beaded Hawk Necklace... 79

Figure 21: Beaded Crown: Flying Through the Rays of the Sun Hawk ... 79

Figure 22: Story Medallion: Indigenous food literacy and sovereignty ... 81

Figure 23: My Beaded Medicine Bag ... 88

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Acknowledgements

My research journey took me across several territories.

I would like to acknowledge with respect the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

I also acknowledge the lands surrounding my home - the traditional territories of the

Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree and Dene peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation where my research took place.

With respect, I also acknowledge the traditional territories of the Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota that surround Tatanka Najin, where my ancestors came from and where my research journey inevitably led me.

To Amy, Crystal, Roberta, Violet and Tamara whose beadwork and stories are upheld, centered and celebrated within this thesis. I thank each of you for sharing your many gifts, for sharing some of the most beautiful parts of yourselves and trusting me to do right by your beadwork and stories.

I would like to acknowledge my partner Ryan who endured long periods of silence so I could write, think and bead my way through this research.

I would also like to thank my amazing family, friends and colleagues who have supported and encouraged me throughout this journey.

And finally, I wish to acknowledge and sincerely thank my supervisory committee, Jeannine Carriere and Billie Allan whose encouragement, expertise and support were an invaluable part of this journey.

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Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to my grandmothers. To my maternal grandmother Patricia Ives Larence.

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Chapter One: Introduction

Beading, involving the stringing of beads or sewing of beads onto hide or fabric, is widely recognized in the lands currently known as Canada as a form of Indigenous cultural expression and is appreciated for its aesthetic or artistic qualities. Traditionally, beading is a practice through which knowledge passes, bonds are strengthened, and spiritual connections are established and although not gendered, it is a practice most commonly undertaken by Indigenous women (Farrell Racette, 2008; Belcourt, 2010; Ray, 2016; Gray, 2017). For many Indigenous beadworkers, the practice of beading moves beyond merely an artistic endeavor. It is a distinct way of knowing, being and doing. The finished, beaded piece is intimately connected to the one who made it and embodies the knowledge and experience of its creator.

With the onset of colonization, beaded objects gained material value as crafts, souvenirs or art that were coveted by collectors and art connoisseurs among European settlers (Gray, 2017; Farrell Racette, 2008). These forms of appropriation devalued and marginalized beading as a knowledge system. Beading became marginalized further when the Canadian government, recognizing beadwork as a symbol of Indigenous cultures and identity, banned the wearing and use of beaded items and thus, the practice of beading itself, through the Indian Act (Farrell Racette, 2017). As a result, many Indigenous women became disconnected from this way of knowing and were unable to pass this knowledge to subsequent generations. All Indigenous women have experienced loss or trauma on some level through the process of colonization and, as a result, must work at making meaning of their identities (Anderson, 2000). Identity then becomes a crucial concept as part of personal decolonization and healing. Engaging with beading practices offers a way for Indigenous women to heal, reclaim, reconnect and reaffirm their

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In this thesis, I will be discussing beadwork as a means for reconnection and decolonization, as described in my research intentions which follow.

Research Intentions

There are two overarching goals of this research study. The first is to develop a deeper understanding of how Indigenous women experience healing and reconnections with identity when they take up the practice of traditional beadwork. Research has noted to varying degrees, the identity connections and healing experienced by Indigenous women when they engage with the practice of beading (Belcourt, 2010; Hanson & Griffith, 2016; Ray, 2016; Gray, 2017; Bourgeois, 2018). This research will explore the question: How do urban Indigenous women experience reconnections to identity when beading practices become a part of their lives? An Indigenous beading methodology was used to explore the perspectives and experiences of five urban Indigenous women in Winnipeg. Within this methodology, stories and conversations about beadwork were used as a method to gather and share knowledge from participants. Each

participant was asked to share her experience through beadwork stories. The practice of beading shares a strong relationship with memory, healing, knowledge and story (Anderson, 2016; Hanson & Griffiths, 2016; Ray, 2016, Bourgeois, 2018); a beading methodology acknowledges this important connection. The intent of this research is to draw attention to the resiliency, transformative change and healing experienced by Indigenous women rather than focusing solely on the impact of historical, colonial and patriarchal oppressions on their lives.

The second purpose of this study is to honour and create space for the inclusion of Indigenous beading knowledges within the realm of social work. Beading has the potential to offer social work practitioners a way of knowing and exploring healing with Indigenous clients that is rooted within Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies. Beading knowledges have also

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been historically suppressed and marginalized through colonization. The inclusion of beading as a way of knowing, being and doing within social work may contribute to wider social justice aims of anti-oppression and decolonization within practice and research and bring these knowledges out of the margins.

I believe knowledge is derived from all relationships. It is with this foundational understanding that I approach my own practice of beading as a relationship, through which I have been able to re-establish connections to knowledge and ways of being lost through colonization and gain greater insight into knowing myself as an Indigenous woman. My personal location is embedded not only in my research intentions, but also in my understanding of the potential and power of beading as a way of knowing, being and doing in research and social work. It is therefore imperative that I begin by offering my own beading story as it is intertwined within this research.

Kookum’s Beaded Necklace

Personal location is part of ethical accountability within Indigenous research

methodologies as it reveals the cultural, political and social context of the researcher, and makes “a claim about who you are and where you come from, your investment and your intent”

(Absolon & Willett, 2005, p.112). My story takes place in the urban context of Winnipeg where I was born and have lived my whole life and where I spent the last 11 years working as a social worker. My Metis family name is Larence which is my maternal grandfather’s name that I carried with me until I was married. My grandfather’s family are descended from the Red River Metis in Manitoba. I did not grow up immersed in Metis culture but was lucky to be close to my maternal grandparents. Through them, I had the opportunity to establish a relationship with and love for land and a creative vision. My grandfather was a farmer and beekeeper and I had more

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opportunities than many inner-city kids to go out and be on the land with my grandparents. I have a deep connection to the prairies which have become an important part of my being. My maternal grandmother did a lot of crochet, sewing and craft projects. She has a very creative way of being. I have many things in my possession that she has made and gifted to me over the years. Although I never learned to machine sew or crochet, I believe I inherited her creativity and ability to vision. I might not have this relationship with land, or this ability to vision and create if I was not connected to my maternal grandparents. This gives me some hope that not all traditional teachings have been lost to me. My relationship with my maternal grandparents forms part of the foundation that shapes who I am. Through my relationship with them, I have come to recognize and respect the important role they played in my life, in shaping my values, worldviews and ways of being in the world. They are only part of my story though.

Through my father’s bloodline I am registered to Tatanka Najin, Standing Buffalo First Nation, a Dakota Sioux community in southern Saskatchewan that I had never been to until just recently. My paternal grandmother, my Kookum, registered some of her children in that

community but was not raised there. She comes from a tiny Saskatchewan community called Day Star. I know some of my paternal relatives had Cree and Metis heritage but am usure which ancestors the Dakota-Sioux connections come from. My paternal grandfather spoke several Indigenous languages, but I am also unsure if Tatanka Najin is the community he actually came from. There is much I don’t know about the paternal side of my ancestry and identity. My parents split up before I was a year old. I have never met my father, my Kookum, or anyone on the paternal side of my family. I grew up disconnected from them. I now understand that these disconnections are directly related to the ongoing and generational impacts of colonization and the residential schools on all of us. This was not only a physical disconnection, but a

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disconnection from culture, teachings, language and knowledge. I did not always understand it this way, but it is what I have come to know through my search to connect with and know my Indigenous identity and through education and my own personal healing journey. There is still grief over the relationships and knowledges that have been disrupted but I found myself seeking out ways to reaffirm my identity as an Indigenous woman, reconnect with my ancestors and decolonize my ways of knowing, being and doing. Beading came into my life as part of this search and through my Kookum’s beaded necklace. As I began to take up this practice, I came to see it as a way to begin to accomplish this.

My Kookum, my paternal grandmother, was a beadwork practitioner who passed into the spirit world before I had a chance to know her. I was very fortunate to be gifted a piece of her beadwork. My mother saw my Kookum many years ago at a craft sale where she was selling her beadwork. My Kookum hadn’t seen me since I was a baby. She asked my mother about me and gave her a rope-style beaded necklace made with pearlescent blue and white beads to gift to me. When my mother gifted this beadwork to me, she told me about her encounter at the craft sale and encouraged me to go back and meet my Kookum. She shared memories of my Kookum caring for me as an infant, rocking me in a traditional baby hammock, where I was securely asleep inside, and she was quietly beading next to me. She shared memories of who my

Kookum was as a mother and grandmother. This was among the first of any memories or stories I had ever heard about my Kookum, and they are forever connected to this piece of beadwork. I went back to the craft sale the next day, hoping to find and meet her, but when I arrived, she wasn’t there. My Kookum passed away in 2012. I still have her beaded necklace. It is the only tangible connection I have to her.

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Years later, I decided to take up the practice of beading. I came into this practice with the intention of connecting with my culture, my ancestors, and myself. I am self-taught. I had no one to teach me. I am still not completely sure where the urge to learn came from, but I found the skill came naturally and quickly progressed. I suspect my grandmothers had a hand in this in some way. I believe the ability to bead is a gift from them both that I have always carried inside of me, within my blood. It is knowledge I already had that was waiting to be reconnected with and uncovered. My very first beadwork project was a pair of beaded moccasins gifted to my only living grandmother on her eightieth birthday. I knew my first project would be gifted to her and would be created with the intent of honouring the knowledge and wisdom she had imparted on me, but also to honour the important role of grandparents in cultural continuity and the sharing of Indigenous knowledges, especially as it relates to identity. I was honestly surprised how well the moccasins turned out and at how well the beadwork held together, even when I see them now nearly four years later. My beadwork had the strength to hold its own and had given me the power to assert pride and confidence in my Indigenous self and Indigenous knowledges. This led me to consider how beading knowledge also has the strength to stand on its own as a legitimate way of knowing. I have come to know that beading and the sharing of knowledge through beadwork is part of my place and purpose within culture as an Indigenous woman. I think that is something my Kookum would have wanted me to know, and I believe that is why her beadwork came to me. Acknowledging this important connection has been essential to my healing. It has given me the confidence to not only connect with and express my Indigenous identity, but also to assert my knowledge, values, worldview and experience through my beadwork and the stories and memories connected to it. My beading story is stitched into the fabric of each and every beaded piece I create.

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Through beadwork, I believe I can still be connected to my Kookum and the knowledges she had to share. Through beadwork, there is space to grow, to know and understand who we are, where we come from, and to be able to articulate and assert this. This short poem by Spotted Fawn (2015) offers some insight:

Through beadwork

I am connecting to my ancestors, the act of beading brings medicine to my soul.

I travel through space and time. I feel the love among those who were on earth before me. Decolonizing one bead at a time.

My journey to reconnect has been guided by beadwork in unexpected ways. This journey is embedded within and woven throughout this research. It has nurtured a desire to connect with and share this amazing ancestral gift with other Indigenous women, and to learn about how beadwork has guided them along on their own journeys to reconnect.

Question of Interest

The question I set out to explore through this research was: How do urban Indigenous women experience reconnections to identity when beading practices become a part of their lives? My aim was to consider the ways in which beading supports the healing, reclaiming and

decolonizing of identity among Indigenous women. To maintain scope and feasibility, the research question was explored in relation to the experiences of urban Indigenous women living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This choice was informed by my geographical location and my own personal and social work experience within the urban context of Winnipeg, where disconnection from Indigenous culture and community is an experience shared by many. The question of how Indigenous women experience reconnections to identity was approached using a beading

methodology and explored through beadwork stories. Stories and conversations about beadwork have the potential to uncover and transmit meaning that is specific and unique to the individual

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(Bourgeois, 2018; Ray, 2016). Beading is a way to tell a story and convey knowledge of our embodied, wholistic and deeply personal experience of healing and identity.

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Chapter Two: Unravelling the Stitches: The Context of Beadwork

Literature Review

The intent of this research is to develop a deeper understanding of how Indigenous

women experience reconnections to identity through their engagement with beading practices. A cursory review of the literature pertaining to Indigenous beadwork revealed this tradition exists among many diverse Indigenous nations across the globe. For the purpose of this review, sources were examined specific to beadwork traditions among North American Indigenous peoples. My search for relevant literature was conducted across a variety online databases specific to publications in social sciences, social work, education, anthropology, health and art history using a combination of search terms that included: beadwork, beading, traditional, beadworking, native, Aboriginal, Indigenous, Indian, Metis, methods, methodology, storytelling, oral tradition, knowledge creation, epistemology, pedagogy, beadwork stories, decolonization, resurgence, reclaiming, worldview, Indigenous women, art therapy, social work, identity, trauma and healing. Much of the research that is specific to the tradition of North American Indigenous beadwork is focused in the area of art history and anthropological study. Since much of the social science literature was based upon the premise of beading as an artistic practice, research pertaining to creative arts and healing within Indigenous contexts was explored. Attention was paid to uncovering literature written from Indigenous perspectives and relating specifically to the practice of beading. Consideration was also given to research that explored beading as a method of inquiry within Indigenous research contexts and revealed that research within this area is very limited. Four themes were identified across this literature review and will be discussed in more detail in the sections that follow. They include: colonial beads, creative art and Indigenous healing, beading research methods and beading epistemology.

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Colonial Beads

The historical and ethnographic literature suggests the practice of beading existed prior to European contact, where hair, quills, bone, stone, hoof, seeds, shells and other things found within nature and on the land were used to adorn personal or ceremonial items (Gray, 2017; Belcourt, 2010; Hill, 2003). Some of these items are still used in traditional beadwork today. Beadwork was not only for embellishment. The styles, motifs and materials often reflected social, spiritual, political, ceremonial or personal relevance (Belcourt, 2010, Gray, 2017). European beads were introduced by trade to an already existing tradition of beading. The important role of Indigenous women in the process of incorporating and Indigenizing European trade goods into Indigenous life was highlighted by Sherry Farrell Racette (2008), a Metis art historian. She says trade goods, such as beads and wool cloth, were Indigenized through naming and language which “served as the means of transferring older meanings on to new forms” (p.71). She also suggests that through this process of Indigenization, these trade goods have become incorporated to the point where they are now considered a part of traditional Indigenous art and culture. Farrell Racette (2008) noted these items reflect the important cultural work of our grandmothers, who were tasked with incorporating knowledges from these two worlds into the cultural and artistic forms we recognize today. As a visual and therefore, easily identifiable expression of Indigeneity and resiliency, beaded items were suppressed within the residential schools and were among the items targeted through the cultural bans implemented under the

Indian Act in Canada until 1951 (Gray, 2017; Farrell Racette, 2017; Prete, 2019). The banning

of these items not only disrupted the identities of Indigenous people, but also the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and culture, the important work of our grandmothers that Farrell Racette (2008) articulates.

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Indigenous beadwork is frequently framed as a traditional form of art and creative expression, where the aesthetics of beadwork are considered a symbolic expression of the

cultural knowledge, experience, and identity of the artist (Robertson, 2017; Farrell Racette, 2017; Belcourt, 2010; Farrell Racette, 2008). The more recent Indigenous art history literature

describes a resurgence in the use of traditional forms of art by contemporary artists to express the past and present impacts of colonization on Indigenous communities (Farrell Racette, 2017; Robertson, 2017; Anderson, 2016). A powerful example are the beaded moccasin tops in the

Walking with Our Sisters art project created by Metis artist Christi Belcourt. The project was

created in response to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The choice of beads within this project speaks to the cultural loss of Indigenous women to Indigenous communities and thus, the loss of generational knowledges that women carry, which is essential for communities to be sustained (Anderson, 2016). The inclusion of beadwork also “demonstrates the transformational power of beading” (Robertson, 2017, p.18). The

participants who created the beadwork for this art exhibit were able to share stories, gain a sense of connectedness, rebuild cultural ties, mourn, and heal through the process of creating beadwork (Anderson, 2016). Many participants were families and loved ones of the missing and murdered who were able to use beadwork to share an experience that would otherwise be difficult to express freely through words alone. Walking with Our Sisters sets a powerful example of the potential beadwork has in raising awareness, creating dialogue and inspiring social action around issues of importance to Indigenous communities. Within the contemporary art history literature emerged an important theme of reclaiming traditional forms of artistic and cultural expression, and through this process, healing.

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Creative Art and Indigenous Healing

The connection between creative and artistic processes and healing has also been explored within the social science literature. The nature of Indigenous healing within this research is varied and is inclusive of healing in relation to holistic health and wellness, personal growth and self-esteem, and historical trauma resulting from residential school involvement (de Leeuw & Muirhead, 2012; Coholic, Cote-Meek & Recollet, 2012; Archibald & Dewar, 2010). The healing benefits that are inherent within creative and artistic activities are noted by

Archibald and Dewar (2010), who propose that when these activities include aspects of traditional art and culture, there are additional benefits to Indigenous people. The ability of creative arts to foster reconnections with Indigenous identity is also noted by Coholic et al. (2012), who say that art-based processes can support Indigenous women to strengthen identity by contributing to the development of greater self-esteem, self-awareness and confidence, which in turn, fosters resilience in the face of a shared experience of colonial oppression.

While these studies have emphasized the significance of the relationship between creative arts and Indigenous healing, it is important to note that the use of creative art is within a certain context – that of the formal structure of a healing-based program or therapy. Archibald and Dewar (2010) based their findings on a larger study they co-authored as part of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) in which they evaluated the use of creative arts within 104 AHF-funded projects. One of their conclusions was that “the arts were viewed as deepening,

supporting, and enhancing the healing process” (p.6). It is important to note that their findings are based largely upon the perspectives and responses from service practitioners, facilitators, therapists and others who delivered mental health and trauma-related healing initiatives under the umbrella of the AHF.

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Building upon these findings Coholic et al. (2012) determined there was little research specific to the use of creative arts-based methods with Indigenous women. The focal point of their research was arts-based group methods. Their research explored the experiences of 16 urban Indigenous women involved in three separate groups that used a mixture of western and Indigenous creative arts. The authors brought a holistic, strengths-based, social work perspective to their analysis, focusing on the experiences of resilience in response to what they saw as

internalized oppression resulting from the ongoing process of colonization. Within this urban context, their research was inclusive of status, non-status, Metis and Inuit women and the authors also noted that many of the women shared an experience of disconnection from their home communities. Participants reportedly felt that engagement with creative processes within the group helped them to build connections with Indigenous culture and identity. Although both Coholic et al. (2012) and Archibald and Dewar (2010) position the creative arts in relation to Indigenous healing, neither study explores the practice of beading specifically within their research.

Beading Research Methods

The practice of beading has been used as a method within research studies that do not have a specific focus on Indigenous healing. Within these studies, the process of engaging in beadwork and the participant’s experience of that process becomes a way to gather information, make meaning, and provide context. In these studies, the emphasis is on the practice or process of beading, not necessarily the completed beadwork project itself.

In their ethnographic study of experiences within domestic spaces, Hadjiyanni and Helle (2010) interviewed 13 Ojibwe men and women from a community in Minnesota to gain a better understanding of the material and immaterial connections established through their engagement

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with craft-making practices within the home; these practices were inclusive of Ojibwe beadwork. Significant to their research was an emphasis on the connective abilities of beadwork practices and the potential for connections to the immaterial or spiritual realms as part of the larger, wholistic process of connecting with cultural identity. Although Hadjiyanni and Helle’s (2010) study acknowledged the wholistic connections inherent within beadwork, their research was written from an architectural and design perspective that focused on how the quality of domestic space within the home, either enhanced or suppressed crafting activities such as beadwork.

Beading has also been used as a method of inquiry positioned alongside Indigenous storytelling in research specific to Indigenous women (Hanson & Griffith, 2016; Ray, 2016, Bourgeois, 2018). Beading is explored as a medium through which Indigenous women

experience intergenerational learning and the transmission of cultural knowledge in a study by Hanson and Griffith (2016), who also explore the practice of weaving among Mapuche women in Chile within this same study. Their study is interdisciplinary, and community and arts-based, informed by an Indigenous research methodology that places emphasis on the contextualized knowledge embedded within the practices and stories of beadwork. Hanson and Griffith (2016) used a mixed method of focus groups, interviews and circles, through which Indigenous women shared experiences of their beading (or weaving) practices. The groups created space for the women to use their beading as a medium to “draw out memories and stories of intergenerational learning” (Hanson & Griffith, 2016, p.225). The authors do not explicitly identify themselves as beadwork practitioners, which makes Ray’s (2016) research unique. She personally locates stories, knowledge and teachings from her own beading practice into her discussion of beading as a method of inquiry in research. Emphasis is also placed by Ray on the process and practice of beadwork within her study. While Hanson and Griffith (2016) describe their use of beading as

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a method within an arts-based research approach, Ray (2016) says it is a distinct Indigenous women’s method of inquiry within research. It is also important to note that in the studies identified where beading is used as a method (such as Hadjiyanni & Helle, 2012; Hanson & Griffith, 2016; Ray, 2016, Bourgeois, 2018), although cultural identity was not the specific area of inquiry, each author noted, to varying degrees, the connections to Indigenous identity

experienced by participants through their engagement with beading practices.

Beading as Epistemology

The visual and aesthetic properties of traditional beadwork have led to a common association of this practice within the realm of “art”. This conceptualization is reflected within the body of fine art and historical literature as well as the creative art therapy literature included within this review, where beading is included with other traditional and non-traditional arts such as drawing, singing, acting, dancing, drumming, painting, carving and so on (Archibald & Dewar, 2010; de Leeuw & Muirhead, 2012). More recently, there has also been a body of emerging literature from Indigenous scholars contesting beading as “art”. These scholars have presented arguments within the literature that the practice of beading is an historically

marginalized Indigenous women’s knowledge (Ray, 2016) and distinct Indigenous epistemology (Bourgeois, 2018).

In a case study that draws upon the subjective, expert experience and knowledge of a single Anishinaabe beadwork practitioner, Bourgeois (2018) positions beading as an

epistemology rather than as an artistic practice. He says the practice of beading “provides insight into each practitioner’s worldview, and also allows us to see how this worldview connects them to wider spheres of Indigenous knowledge and experience” (p.54). While the study

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knowledge created through this practice is unique, specific to the individual, and deeply connected to ancestors and cultural identity.

A beading research methodology that is grounded in Indigenous worldviews is articulated by Ray (2016), who presents beading as a legitimate knowledge system and critiques the

colonial, hierarchal, and patriarchal constructions of Indigenous women’s knowledges as non-knowledges. Ray, who is an Anishinaabe woman, also draws upon her knowledge as a

beadwork practitioner, offering depth and insight into the unique, individual and spiritual nature of knowledge that is present within this practice which Bourgeois (2018) also articulates. Beading knowledges are extended into the realm of academic research by Ray (2016) who proposes that by asserting beading knowledges within research, beading provides “an outlet to collect, understand, and convey knowledges in a way that is meaningful and relevant within an Anishinaabe worldview and aligned with concepts of sovereignty and community wellness” (p.376). By reclaiming beading knowledges and incorporating them into our everyday lives and the ways we go about doing research, Ray (2016) asserts that values, identity, cultural ways of knowing, and relationships disrupted by the generational impacts of colonization may be healed and restored. This contributes to Indigenous resurgence and the demarginalization and

decolonization of beading as a way of knowing and researching. Studies by Bourgeois (2018) and Ray (2016) have drawn attention to understanding the epistemological nature inherent within the practice of beading and have emphasized an understanding of beading practices as a distinct, Indigenous women’s knowledge system and method of inquiry within academic research. These studies have created space for the inclusion of beading as an Indigenous way of knowing, being and pursuing research with Indigenous women.

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Summary

Finally, the Indigenous-specific creative art literature suggests a connection between artistic processes and experiences of healing; connections between these processes and Indigenous identity are also noted. Coholic et al. (2012) note the gap in research relating to Indigenous women’s experience with arts-based healing and highlight the urban context where Indigenous women expressed feeling cultural disconnections – leaving room to explore the experiences of urban Indigenous women further. Ray (2016) suggests beading “becomes a part of your life” (p. 364) situating the practice outside the realm of art therapy, raising further questions about the experiences of Indigenous women outside this formal structure. Drawing on findings in these studies, this research seeks to use the practice of beading as a method of inquiry in developing a deeper understanding of urban Indigenous women’s experiences of connections to identity.

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Chapter Three: Methodology

To decolonize knowledges within research, our attention must be turned to Indigenous knowledges as our theoretical frameworks. In this research, Indigenous research methods and a decolonization theoretical framework were used to guide my inquiry through a beading

methodology. A beading methodology decolonizes and Indigenizes the research approach because colonized knowledges cannot be dismantled with colonial methodologies (Absolon, 2011). A beading methodology has its own theoretical orientation to knowledge. Rooted within Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies, it is based on a relational understanding of the role of beading in establishing connections to cultural knowledge (Ray, 2016). This relationship is established through engaging in the practice of beading in which meaning is created on wholistic and subjective levels. Utilizing a beading methodology then offers a distinct, Indigenous

approach to understanding the subjective experiences of Indigenous women that upholds and centers Indigenous worldviews and knowledges within its foundations.

Critical Indigenous, anti-oppressive and feminist perspectives are brought into this research approach through the positioning of beading as a distinct Indigenous women’s knowledge that has been marginalized through colonization. A beading methodology

acknowledges the history of colonial and patriarchal oppression that has subjugated Indigenous women’s ways of knowing and being (Ray, 2016). Such a methodology upholds feminist approaches to research through creating a consciousness of the diverse experiences and

knowledge of women and incorporating women’s lived experiences into the knowledge building process (Hesse-Biber, Leavy & Yaiser, 2004). As such, a beading methodology is an approach that can contribute to developing a deeper understanding of Indigenous women’s healing and

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identity in response to the influence of patriarchal and colonial oppressions on their ways of knowing, being and doing.

Beading Methodology

My personal journey, my relationship with beading and my emerging awareness of the colonial influence on Indigenous knowledges led to my choice of a beading methodology in this research. When I began my MSW program in 2016, I had been beading for about a year and was becoming more confident, insightful and intentional in my work. My perspective on this practice was always changing and evolving as I delved deeper into my relationship with beading. This coincided with my studies around Indigenous knowledges and methodologies as I moved

through my MSW program. Teachings from Wilson (2008), Kovach (2009) and Absolon (2011) drew my attention to the privileging of dominant, western-based research and the colonizing and oppression of Indigenous knowledges. Centering Indigenous knowledges, worldviews, values and methodologies in my own research became essential. I gained an appreciation for

storytelling in research and the potential of beadwork stories as a method of inquiry was

something that really piqued my interest when I thought about how I would undertake this study. I was intrigued by the emerging scholarship from Ray (2016), Bourgeois (2018) and Hanson and Griffiths (2016) that validated what I had experienced through my own practice and what I believed about beading as a way of knowing. Although I had only these few sources to draw upon, I put forth a beading methodology within my research proposal that was grounded in Indigenous worldviews and approaches to research. I articulated its theoretical frameworks and epistemological underpinnings and described how I would gather knowledge through stories and conversations about beadwork. I considered relational accountability and how I would honour and demonstrate respect for the knowledges shared. I had also made a commitment in my

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proposal to prepare beadwork to gift to my participants for their contribution. Although I initially had no definitive idea about what this beadwork would look like or what story it would tell, what I did know was that I wanted it to be meaningful to the research and to the participants in some way.

I decided this beadwork would be created to not only convey my knowledge and the way I think about knowledge within beadwork, but also my relationship to beadwork, and how I understood beading as a way of doing research alongside Indigenous peoples. The story of the beading methodology used in this research is connected to the beaded medicine bags I created and gifted to each of the Indigenous women who participated (Figure 1). The story of the beaded

Figure 1. Beaded medicine bags. Winnipeg, Manitoba December 8, 2018.

medicine bags is interwoven throughout this methodology chapter as it reflects some of the key elements of this beading methodology. I believe it is also important to note that although I acknowledge how intimately my own life and experience are woven within this methodology, I cannot claim it as my own. What I can offer is one of potentially many ways of undertaking a beading methodology in research alongside Indigenous people. Beading has the quality of being

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distinct and unique. A beading methodology also holds this quality and how it is undertaken will depend largely upon the knowledge, experience and relationship the researcher holds with

beadwork and the questions they seek to understand through this practice.

Beaded Medicine Bags

I began creating the beaded medicine bags in November 2018 while I was preparing my application to the University of Victoria Human Research Ethics Board. During this time, I was engaged in thinking about accountability, the methodology, my intentions for this research, and the specific steps I would take within the research process. I was also thinking about the research participants and how I wanted to honour and create space for the diversity of

knowledge, experience, story and beadwork they might bring into this research. Story has the potential to generate a large volume of data and I hoped for at most, six participants. I began by creating six medicine bags, one for each potential participant.

Each bag was made with Alaskan split hide and secured with a strip of brain-tanned leather that was elastic enough to hold the beaded medicine bag around the neck and close to the heart. A single flower is beaded on each bag. I chose a simple floral pattern from A Beginner’s

Guide to Metis Floral Beadwork (Scofield, Farrell Racette & Briley, 2011). Floral patterns are a

distinguishing feature of Metis beadwork (Scofield et al., 2011). I wanted to honour my personal connections to beadwork and the strong tradition of beading that has existed for generations among my ancestors through incorporating Metis floral patterns into my medicine bags. Beaded flowers have also been very significant in my journey to reconnect with identity through

beadwork. My very first beadwork projects were beaded flowers and I continue to use them frequently within my work. Prairie wildflower season is my favorite. I thought about how flowers are among the most beautiful gifts found upon the land, especially on the prairies in

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Manitoba. I wanted the beadwork to be connected to the land, to reflect its central importance to the beliefs I bring into this research.

Relational Accountability

Although I did not know who my participants would be, I created a beaded medicine bag for each one of them with the same intent. The medicine bags were created to express my

intention to go about doing this research in a good way, to be a respectful and humble storyteller, and to share and give back beadwork and story in exchange for the same. Indigenous

methodologies revolve around relational accountability, demonstrating our intent to conduct research in a way that is authentic, credible and based on maintaining relationships and relational ways of doing research (Wilson, 2008). Relational accountability is also embedded within Indigenous knowledges and worldviews, and within the relationships formed through storytelling (Absolon, 2011; Kovach, 2009; Wilson, 2008). The creating and gifting of beadwork and the story contained within the beadwork was meant as a gesture of reciprocity, to give back, build a relationship, and honour the gift of beadwork knowledge that would be shared in a way that was most congruent within a beading methodology.

Traditional Cree protocols of offering tobacco are also a gesture of respect and giving thanks for knowledge shared by participants (Kovach, 2009). Sage, as a women’s medicine, supports strength, healing, spiritual awareness and clarity of intent (KiiskeeNtum, 1998). Tobacco and sage were bundled in yellow cloth, tied with sinew, and were the medicines placed inside the bags that would be gifted to the Indigenous women in my research. The sage I had picked and dried the previous summer. I had gone out to the land just outside the city limits of Winnipeg and offered tobacco for the sage I brought home. I wanted to honour my relationship to the prairie land the research took place upon. This was done not only through the inclusion of

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sage, but through the experience of gathering and preparing it. The smoke from the burning of this sage was also used to smudge each bag before they were gifted. The inclusion of traditional medicine and choice of creating a beaded medicine bag itself was also meant to acknowledge beading as medicine to heal. Beading is a practice that shares a strong relationship with healing, (Anderson, 2016; Bourgeois, 2018; Hanson & Griffiths, 2016; Ray, 2016). I had experienced healing through beading by learning a traditional skill, recognizing my role within culture, reconnecting with my ancestors, and being able to tell my story in my own way, through beadwork. The connection between beading and healing was an important one that I hoped to not only explore within my research, but to also reflect in my beading methodology. Healing and resiliency were what I wanted to draw attention to through my methodology, rather than focusing solely on the impact of historical and colonial oppressions on the lives and identities of the participants.

Beading Epistemology

The beaded medicine bags were created to not only illustrate my understanding of beading as methodology, but also its underlying epistemological and ontological roots. Beading as epistemology advances the idea that through the process of beading, individual and subjective knowledge, memory, and experience are created and then stitched into our beadwork (Bourgeois, 2018; Ray, 2016). The beaded flowers on the medicine bags were meant to convey the beliefs about knowledge that I approached this research with. Although each medicine bag is similar in construction and beaded with a four petaled flower, each flower is unique. Each flower is beaded with different combinations of colors and no combination is the same. I let my creative vision flow and was guided by intuition in the selection of color. I did not bead any of the medicine bags with a preconceived color scheme in mind. The uniqueness of the flowers

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demonstrates that there are potentially many stories and many knowledges to be uncovered through beadwork and beadwork stories, that none are invalid. This knowledge is retained within the beadwork however, because it is subjective and personal knowledge, only the creator of the beaded piece can truly interpret or tell its story and relay the knowledge. According to Absolon, (2011) “the journey of gathering Indigenous knowledge requires tools of translation” (p.91). Within a beading methodology, story is the tool in translating beading knowledges into language through beadwork stories.

Wholistic Knowledges

The differing and unique flowers were meant to honour the unique contribution that each participant would make to this research through the wholistic and personal knowledges held within their beadwork and beading stories. The choice of a four petaled flower was deliberate. The four petals are influenced by the four directions of the Medicine Wheel and represent a wholistic and relational understanding of the nature of Indigenous knowledges, experiences, identity and healing – all of which were integral to exploring my research questions. Wholeness within the Medicine Wheel is about understanding each part of the wheel and its relationship to all the other parts (Hart, 2002). The center circle of each flower signifies the self. Each petal is interconnected with the center, and is meant to represent the heart, mind, body, and spirit and my belief that when we engage with beadwork, we do so with the whole of our being and engage in this practice with all parts of ourselves. Bourgeois (2018) states, “the act of beading is holistic in nature, and stimulates emotional, spiritual, physical and mental processes” (p.46). Through these processes comes knowledge that is wholistic and experiential, encompassing the whole of what we experience through the senses of our minds, hearts, bodies and spirits when we do beadwork. A wholistic relationship is established with the beadwork through these senses, and the

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knowledge, memories and stories connected to our beadwork comes from all these parts of ourselves.

Within Indigenous methodologies, knowledge itself is bound within the relationships and connections formed with everything in our environment; where an object or thing is not as important as our relationship to it (Wilson, 2008). This wholistic understanding is fundamental to how I view knowledge within beadwork and what I believe can be known through our relationship to this practice. How and what we come to know through beading is wholly

connected to ourselves, and our ways of knowing, being and doing. Knowledge is a process, and when it is accessed through practices such as beading, it then “provides a way to know with your being as opposed to just your mind” (Ray, 2016, p.373). The four petaled flower is meant to acknowledge and create space for the inclusion of knowledges from the heart, mind, body and spirit that are inherent within the beadwork and stories shared by the participants.

Spirit Beads

Through a wholistic understanding of beading knowledges, space is also created for the inclusion of spiritual knowledges within the research process. Spirit encompasses inner

knowledge that moves beyond those knowledges that are accessed through the more tangible parts of ourselves; in our minds, bodies, and hearts. These knowledges reflect our inner sense of connection to the greater universe (Wilson, 2008). They include perceptual experiences,

insights, intuitions, reflections, inner knowings, dreams and visions (Hart, 2010; Kovach, 2009; Wilson, 2008). The beaded medicine bags were the first project I had undertaken in which I had incorporated the use of spirit beads.

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A spirit bead is an intentional flaw created within an otherwise perfect piece of beadwork to demonstrate humbleness before the Creator, and to show that nothing on Earth given to us by the Creator is perfect, including ourselves (Scofield et al., 2011). Within one petal of each beaded flower, a bead in its center has been stitched deliberately out of place. The medicine bags, their stories and knowledges, are all connected through their spirit beads. The color of the spirit bead is the same in each of them – a light pearlescent pink. I was guided by intuition in selecting which petal they would be placed in, knowing that no matter where I placed this bead, it would never take away from the whole beauty of the flower. The inclusion of spirit beads is meant to demonstrate that spiritual knowledges are part of the beauty of Indigenous knowledges, subtly woven through them, not unlike the spirit beads in my medicine bags.

Spirit beads have also been referred to as humility beads. Humility requires insight and the ability to acknowledge not only our strengths, but our griefs, traumas and weaknesses. Finding a spirit bead is considered a gift that can reveal how important and dignified being different can be and the strengths and frailties of being human (Stout, 2008). I felt this teaching was an important one to carry into research that concerns Indigenous identity. Within my beading methodology, the spirit bead is meant to acknowledge that nothing about ourselves, our experiences, our knowledges, or our beadwork is perfect. What we may consider to be flaws are part of what makes us unique. Knowledge created through the practice of beading is unique and specific, deeply connected to the individual, their ancestors and cultural identity (Bourgeois, 2018). Spirit beads are meant to invite the diversity of spiritual knowledge and experience into the research process and to uphold these knowledges as a valid part of the whole of what we can know through beading as a method of inquiry in research.

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Beading Stories

The beaded medicine bags were more than a paradigm or framework to relay my

understanding of beading knowledges and how they relate to my research questions. They were also created in order to become part of the research methods. Indigenous methodologies contain not only a knowledge belief system and its underlying ontological and epistemological roots, but also includes the actual methods used (Kovach, 2009). Beadwork stories were the method of inquiry used to approach my research questions. A beading methodology shares many elements with Indigenous storytelling methodologies as these two practices are inseparable from one another (Ray, 2016). Beadwork retains the stories and knowledge of its creator, and stories and conversations about beadwork have the potential to uncover and transmit subjective meaning that is specific and unique to the individual (Bourgeois, 2018; Ray, 2016). I wanted to explore my research questions through beadwork and beading stories because according to Ray (2016), they are “an advanced system of knowledge production and transmission” for Indigenous women (p.368). Initially, I created the beaded medicine bags with a singular vision of gifting them to participants as part of my commitment to relational accountability. However, as I spent time reflecting on my methodology and its relationship to this beadwork, I quickly realized that there were stories within this work that were important to the research process and needed to be shared with participants.

Stories offer context to beadwork, without the accompanying story, only part of its knowledge can be relayed or interpreted. My beading story, my reasons for doing this research, and the knowledges and beliefs I held about what can be known through this practice were embedded within each bag I created and could be relayed to the participants through the story of this beadwork. Kovach (2009) states, “in asking others to share stories, it is necessary to share

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our own, starting with self-location” (p.98). Although I created a medicine bag for each

participant, I also created one for myself. Within my medicine bag, I decided I would carry not only tobacco and sage, but also my Kookum’s beaded necklace. Her beadwork was integrally connected to my beading story, and the reasons why I was doing this research. Through my own beaded medicine bag and Kookum’s beaded necklace, I would be able to share my self location with participants in a way that was most congruent with my beading methodology.

I also understood the sharing of story as a reciprocal process and believed that the sharing of beading stories was no different. Storytelling in research allows the teller to share their story on their own terms, using their own voice according to Thomas (2015), who also says that sharing story validates the storyteller’s experience and “has the ability to give others with similar stories the strength, encouragement, and support they need to tell their own stories” (p.195). I saw an opportunity for the beaded medicine bags to act as a facilitator in the reciprocal process of storytelling. Their presence could support and encourage the participants to engage in the process of discussing and sharing their own personal connections to their beadwork and their own stories of identity. I believe beadwork has the power to inspire story and the sharing of knowledges among Indigenous people and between generations. Knowledge and skill required for beading was traditionally learned, practiced and shared communally and intergenerationally (Hanson & Griffiths, 2016). Beadwork stories uphold the oral tradition in the gathering and sharing of Indigenous knowledges within research. Through the gifting of the beaded medicine bags and the sharing of my beadwork and story, I would be able to pass my knowledge along to participants and create a supportive space to receive beading knowledges from them.

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Reflections

Although I had never learned the skill of beading from my Kookum, I believe her beading knowledges were never lost and were lying dormant within me. Her beaded necklace was not just jewellery or art that were gifted to me, it was the knowledge within her beadwork that was the greater gift. It was knowledge of beading as an Indigenous way of knowing, being and doing that I was able to connect with and then apply to my own life and my own ways of doing research and asking questions about the experiences of other Indigenous women. I would place my Kookum’s necklace, her knowledges into my beaded medicine bag and bring them with me into the research process. When I look back on this now, I realize the act of doing so had a more significant meaning. It was a gesture meant to signify the connection with my Kookum and her knowledges had not been severed, but had in fact, been restored through my connection to beadwork. Bringing her knowledges into the research process was part of acknowledging that the tradition of passing knowledges and ways of being among Indigenous people and between generations would continue and be upheld through beadwork, and through this research journey.

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Chapter Four: Research Process

Through this research, my goal was to create a deeper understanding of how urban Indigenous women experience reconnections with identity when beading practices become incorporated into their lives. This inquiry was explored from the perspectives of Indigenous women through beadwork stories using a beading methodology. The sections that follow within this chapter describe the specific steps of the research process.

Ethical Considerations

Before Indigenous women were invited to share beadwork stories, University of Victoria Human Research Ethics Board approval was sought and granted. This involved developing recruitment flyers, interview questions, forms for informed consent, and a clear ethical process to respect participants in this study. In addition to adhering to university research ethics, I also brought my own Indigenous ethical orientation into my way of being within this research project. I am guided by the ethical teachings of the seven grandfathers: courage, love, honesty, humility, respect, wisdom and truth. I am also guided by my responsibility to all my relations – relational accountability. As an act of relationality and accountability to my participants, the opportunity to provide feedback, review, and approve their transcripts was provided to ensure their words are reflected as they wish. Wilson (2008) reminds us about ownership - that knowledge is part of relationships and cannot be owned, and that it becomes more difficult to protect Indigenous knowledges once they are put forward. In centering Indigenous women’s beading knowledges within this study, I have an ethical responsibility to my participants and to all my relations to ensure there is no risk of those knowledges or stories being misappropriated. In accomplishing

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this, my ethical orientation is informed by my knowledge and understanding of the damaging history of exploitative research involving Indigenous people.

Participants

Exploring the question of how urban Indigenous women experience reconnections to identity, implies a disconnection with some aspect of identity. According to Anderson (2000) relationships held with family, ancestors, community, land, language, traditions and spirituality have supported Indigenous women in fostering a positive sense of cultural identity. I wanted to engage with participants who had experienced past or present disruptions to these relationships, and who have established a personal practice of beading within their lives. My intent was to explore how this practice may contribute towards healing, re-establishing or deepening the connection they hold with their identity as Indigenous women. Since my research question was specific to the experiences of Indigenous women, I sought adult participants over the age of 18, who self-identified as Indigenous women, and who lived within the urban context of Winnipeg. Participants were invited to share their insight and experience through stories and conversations about beadwork during an in-person interview. Stories have the potential to generate a large body of data, therefore, I wanted to choose a smaller sample size and decided I would recruit up to six individual participants. The choice of a small sample size also stems from a desire to ensure that data generated through stories maintains context, depth and manageability, while ensuring beadwork stories remain intact and true to the storytellers.

Recruitment

When I began this study, I didn’t have any connections to any other Indigenous beadwork practitioners in Winnipeg. I had learned beading on my own. I read books. I went online. I

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watched videos. I had some virtual connections through Indigenous beadwork pages and social media groups, but no direct personal connections to other beadworkers who I could have approached to participate in this study. I decided to employ a snowball sampling process to identify potential participants where I developed a recruitment poster to distribute my study information among my existing social networks, both online and among the community

connections I had in Winnipeg. The recruitment poster asked: “Is beading a part of your life?” (Appendix A). It outlined the purpose and intent of the research, participant criteria, and asked Indigenous women to consider participating in an in-person interview between 1-2 hours in length, to share and discuss their personal connections to beadwork. I distributed this poster online, through my social media contacts and through email to some of my acquaintances and colleagues. I asked them to pass the recruitment poster along to anyone they knew who might fit the criteria and be interested in participating in this research. In addition to these steps, I also sought permission to display this poster at the Winnipeg Trading Post, which is a local bead shop in Winnipeg and through a few local bead groups I was aware of within Winnipeg. As a result of my initial steps towards recruitment, three Indigenous women contacted me to express interest in participation after my recruitment poster was shared on social media and through email. A fourth participant contacted me after seeing my poster displayed at the Winnipeg Trading Post, and the fifth and final participant was recruited after my poster was shared at a local Winnipeg beading group.

Informed Consent

Forms for informed consent were prepared to be given to participants prior to their participation (Appendix B). The consent form detailed the purpose and objective of the research study, the potential risks and benefits of participation, and how information, identity and stories

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would be collected, protected and kept confidential. Interviews were digitally recorded,

transcribed, and a condensed version of each participant’s beading story was created to be shared within the final written thesis. Participants were advised that they would be able to review, edit and approve their beading story prior to its inclusion, and that they would be gifted with

beadwork handmade by the researcher for their participation. They were also advised that their participation was voluntary. They would still be entitled to keep the beaded medicine bag gifted to them if they chose to withdraw, and they could withdraw at any time with no questions asked.

When participants contacted me to express interest in this study, the consent form was emailed to them along with an interview guide. The interview guide contained a list of six questions that would be used to guide the discussion during the in-person interview (Appendix C). I explained that the interview itself would be unstructured, allowing them to share their beadwork stories in whatever manner they wished. Participants were also asked to bring

photographs or examples of their beadwork to the interview, and to consider those examples they felt a personal connection to, or through which they may have learned something of themselves through the process of creating it. It was explained to the participants that I did not intend to keep their beadwork, but that it would serve as a visual and tangible reference that I hoped would also guide our discussion during the in-person interview. Some of the questions within the interview guide referred specifically to the beadwork the participant brought with them and included:

1. Can you share a bit about yourself and some of the disconnections from your culture or Indigenous identity that you might have experienced?

2. How did you learn to bead? What motivated you to learn or continue this practice? 3. How does your practice of beading connect you to your culture and identity as an

Indigenous woman?

4. Tell me about the beadwork you have brought with you today. What is the story of each piece?

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5. Can you share some of your personal connections to these pieces? What influenced them or what you may have learned about yourself through the process of creating them?

6. How has your perspective/view of who you are in terms of your cultural identity, changed along with your practice of beading?

I chose to share these questions with the participants beforehand so that they would have ample time to fully consider all aspects of their participation including what they would be asked to share and reflect upon. I wanted them to have a very clear idea of what this research was about and give them time to consider how they and their beadwork might fit within it before they were asked if they wanted to take the next step by arranging an interview.

Confidentiality & Anonymity

Confidentiality was also highlighted within the forms for informed consent. Participants were able to choose whether to keep their identity anonymous and choose their own pseudonym to be referred to within the research results. I also shared my responsibility to protect their information by ensuring all interview recordings, transcripts and written stories were stored on a separate, password protected disk, and kept along with any written or printed information within a locked container in my home. Participants were also asked to consider whether they wanted to keep their beadwork confidential. As part of informed consent, I explained to each participant that I would ask for permission to include photographs of their beadwork to share alongside their beading story within the final thesis. There are limits to confidentiality in sharing beadwork. Beadwork is integrally connected to our identity. The individual, unique nature of beadwork creates the possibility that participants could still be identified through their beadwork if they chose to share it while still keeping their identity confidential. Each participant was encouraged to consider this, and each was given the option to choose confidentiality for both their beadwork

Stitching ourselves back together: urban Indigenous women's experience of reconnecting with identity through beadwork

Stitching Ourselves Back Together: Urban Indigenous Women’s Experience of

Reconnecting with Identity Through Beadwork.

By

Shawna Bowler

B.A., University of Manitoba, 2005

B.S.W., University of Manitoba, 2009

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK

In the School of Social Work

© Shawna Bowler, 2020

The University of Victoria

All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by

photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author.

Stitching Ourselves Back Together: Urban Indigenous Women’s Experience of

Reconnecting with Identity Through Beadwork.

By

Shawna Bowler

B.A., University of Manitoba, 2005

B.S.W., University of Manitoba, 2009

Supervisory Committee

Dr. Jeannine Carriere, School of Social Work

Supervisor

Dr. Billie Allan, School of Social Work

Departmental Member

Abstract

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: Unravelling the Stitches: The Context of Beadwork

Chapter Three: Methodology

Chapter Four: Research Process